Remember
by em j
Summary: PostDoomsday. When the impossible happens, the Doctor and Rose are reunited but neither is prepared for how things have changed. Tenth DoctorRose
1. Travelling

This story was originally inspired by Christina Rossetti's sonnet 'Remember', which I feel reflects the relationship between the Doctor and Rose at the end of series 2 perfectly.

_Remember me when I am gone away,  
__Gone far away into the silent land;  
__When you can no longer hold me by the hand,  
__Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.  
__Remember me when no more day by day  
__You tell me of our future that you planned:  
__Only remember me; you understand  
__It will be too late to counsel then or pray.  
__Yet if you should forget me for a while  
__And afterwards remember, do not grieve:  
__For if the darkness and corruption leave  
__A vestige of the thoughts that I once had,  
__Better by far you should forget and smile  
__Than that you should remember and be sad. _

In this story I am obviously speculating over many things, not least the character of Martha. Seeing as none of us know what she will be like, I have taken it upon myself to write her character myself. I have also decided that she hails from Earth, like Rose. As far as I am aware we have been told nothing to the contrary so far, but this may well be a wrong assumption. Time will tell. No doubt in a year's time I will look back and laugh at it, but right now I have nothing else to go on but what I see in my mind! I am also taking some science-fiction liberties in making the apparently impossible happen. However, I suppose in Doctor Who anything is possible! Anyway, obviously what I write does not reflect the events of how ever the real series 3 will pan out so I can adjust things to a certain extent, to make them fit my story!

I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always welcome!

I I I I I I I I I I I

"What's that noise?"

"What noise?" The Doctor turned to Martha with a confused look on his face, his fingers subconsciously still tapping away at a keypad on the TARDIS' central controls.

"That – that whirring." Martha held up a hand to silence the sound of the Doctor's fingers on the computer. He obediently stopped what he was doing for a moment. Lifting his head, he scanned the TARDIS with his eyes and ears, as alert as a police dog tracking a scent.

Or possibly not so alert. "Nope," he announced confidently, returning his attention to the computer. "I don't hear any – whoa!" He stopped mid-word as the TARDIS jolted violently.

"What on earth was that?" Martha queried, rushing over to join the Doctor and positioning herself so she could peer at the screen from behind him. She had not even begun to comprehend how the TARDIS functioned but she liked to look at it all the same. _'Rose picked it up much more quickly,' _he had told her once, but she had decided not to take this as insult. She had learnt very quickly that Rose had done many things Martha had not and realised his comments were not to be taken to heart.

"I think the Old Girl's trying to tell us something," the Doctor laughed, taking the foreign, and rather aggressive, movement of his ship far too lightly for Martha's liking. He gave the controls an affectionate pat. Or rather, a whack. Martha was (pleasantly) surprised that some mechanism did not spontaneously combust from the strength and enthusiasm of his gesture. He went on. "Maybe she doesn't fancy a trip to revolutionary France right now."

"Well, that's just fine," Martha replied in an instant. "Let's go somewhere else."

"Oh, Martha, I am disappointed," the Doctor replied, shaking his head in mock despair. "It would have taken a lot more than a jolt to discourage Rose."

Martha let this comment pass her by. She turned from the centre of the TARDIS and began to wander aimlessly. "Let me think," she began. "I always quite fancied seeing the Beatles perform live. But early on, mind you. Before they took off. It's so much better-"

"Uh, uh," the Doctor interrupted. "Revolutionary France is what you wanted, and that's just what you're going to get."

"Doctor, I only picked it because you put me on the spot and that was the first thing that came to mind." The Doctor turned to her with a questioning look on his face. "Mr Hodges. GCSE history," she explained. "They were the only lessons I ever looked forward to."

"All the more reason to go. Bringing history to life. You're about to have an experience that millions of school children would give their right arm for. Or maybe even their heads." The Doctor grinned, pleased with himself. "Heads – the French revolution – the guillotine?" he explained, killing the joke in one fell swoop.

"I get it, Doctor," Martha replied with a despairing shake of her head. "I'll have you know you got an A."

"Good for you." The Doctor's fingers once again began to dance over the keyboard as he started murmuring to himself. "She's just being a little stubborn, that's all. I just need to override- And configure- That's it. Just one more-" With a flourish, he tapped one final key and spun round with extreme enthusiasm. "Right. That's that. Maybe you should go and get changed."

"Excuse me?" Martha self-consciously glanced down at her outfit. "Are you implying something?"

"The ideas may have been revolutionary, Martha, but miniskirts were still not exactly acceptable."

"Fair point. Give me a minute."

"You'll have to be quick if we want to beat the crowds at Louis 16th's execution."

"Doctor!"

"Well, we can't exactly help him, can we? And seeing as we're there…if you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Martha shuddered involuntarily. "I don't care how educational it is, Doctor, I'm not watching someone have his head chopped off."

"You're no fun, are you?" the Doctor chided, but with a smile on his face. He watched Martha pull a face at him and then turn to leave, when all of a sudden the TARDIS jolted once again. Martha stumbled, grabbing hold of the nearest surface to keep her balance. The Doctor rushed back over to the computer. His fingers nimbly floated over the keys. Martha almost forgot her panic as she marvelled at his apparent unlimited knowledge of all things…well, of all things. But she was soon disturbed from her admiration when the TARDIS began to shake. Not just one single jolt, but a series of violent movements, as though the ship was battling some outside force. The Doctor's typing became increasingly urgent.

"What's going on?" Struggling to stay on her feet, Martha attempted to reach the Doctor.

"Hold on to something," he instructed, the urgency in his voice making Martha feel even more nervous. "Tightly."

"What's going on, Doctor?"

"I don't know."

Martha was not prepared for this reply. "How can you not know?"

"Very easily, it seems." He stopped typing and began to play with some buttons and knobs on the central controls. "Hold on," he repeated.

Martha took hold of a pole and wrapped an arm around it to battle the constant vibrations of the TARDIS, which were trying desperately to force her to the floor. She watched as the Doctor carefully studied the controls, himself struggling to stay on his feet. Decisively, he flicked a switch and then took hold of the centre of the TARDIS. "Fingers crossed," he announced, with a goofy grin.

"That's not exactly scientific."

"It's all I've got, right now."

Martha did not have time to reply as the TARDIS stopped shaking with one violent jerk, ten times the strength of those that had preceded it. She was unable to keep hold of the TARDIS as she felt her body fly across the room. Her leg hit something hard as she landed. "Ouch!" she yelled, resisting the urge to shout something very different. That was going to leave a bruise. When she looked up, the Doctor was studying the screen. "I'm fine. Thanks for asking. I knew the French revolution was turbulent, but-" The lack of any response rattled Martha. Looking up, she noted that the Doctor's head was moving closer and closer to the screen. He was muttering something to himself. "May I?" she asked, standing up and moving over to the TARDIS door. The fact that the Doctor did not immediately vehemently refuse convinced Martha there could be no real threat outside. It was still with caution that she pushed the door open, however. A fresh breeze immediately hit her. She glanced outside. "Doctor, I don't think we're in France."

"I know." It was his first words since they had landed.

"It looks like England, Doctor." Glancing around, Martha tried to assimilate her surroundings. After a moment she pushed the door closed, shivering from the cold wind outside. "If I'm not mistaken, we're in London. And judging by the aeroplane that was flying over head, it's not the 18th century."

"It's the present day, Martha."

"Oh. How did we end up here? It's not quite where we were headed, is it?"

"It's even further than you think." And then, to himself. "This isn't possible."

"What's not possible, Doctor?"

"This is Earth, Martha, but not the one you're thinking of."

"What do you mean?"

"It can't be," the Doctor murmured, as though he was still convincing himself of what the answer to her question was.

"Where are we, Doctor?" Martha asked, with an increasing sense of urgency.

"We're on Earth. But we're in an alternate universe."


	2. Working

Rose sat at the computer, cursing the huge amounts of paperwork that accompanied every tiny alien sighting that was reported in London. Whilst each individual seemed to think that their encounter was the most important one that had occurred this year, in fact the vast majority were of very little interest to anybody other than those involved and all they served to do was create tedious work for Rose, when she would much rather have been covering more interesting business. The sound of her phone ringing disturbed her in the middle of filling in one of the forms. "Rose Tyler," she announced, picking up the handset. "Oh, hi, Mickey…Not much…Paperwork, yeah…Yeah, I'm looking forward to that as well…Eight o'clock? Sure." She summoned her automatic diary onto the computer screen. "I should be out of here on time tonight…Makes a change…yeah…See you tonight…yes…Love you too."

Just as she put the phone down, a knock resonated on the door of her small, but comfortable office. "Come in," she called out. It still felt strange, sometimes, to be in this position. At no point in her life, particularly after meeting the Doctor, had she pictured herself in an office. And certainly she had never imagined she would have her own room, with her own computer, and photos stuck onto a pin board and an unidentifiable furry creature sitting on the corner of her desk, the fruit of a successful night at the travelling fair with Mickey a couple of months ago.

A young woman, possibly even a year or two younger than Rose, entered the room. "I have something I thought you might be interested in, Miss Tyler," she said hesitantly. "Inter-universe traffic reported at 10:37 hours this morning."

Rose smiled warmly, placing the girl at ease. "Sit down," she said, gesturing towards the seat opposite her own and holding out her hand to receive the bundle of papers the young woman was carrying. "Jenny, isn't it? Jenny Cartwright?"

"Yes, Miss Tyler." The young woman seemed chuffed to have herself recognised and once again the strangeness of her situation hit Rose. Only in her early twenties, and one of the most senior employees of Torchwood, she struggled to comprehend the fact that she commanded respect within this building.

"Call me Rose," she insisted, briefly reading the top sheet of paper. "That's odd. There's no record of what kind of vessel it was."

"There's no record of it on our system, Miss Tyler. I mean, Rose," Jenny corrected herself. "It has only been registered as an unidentifiable ship."

"We didn't get a warning of its arrival?"

"No."

"And there has been no contact from it?"

"No."

This made Rose feel uneasy. Whilst it was not always easy to keep track of inter-universe travel, the vast majority of visitors to this universe either sent prior notification or reported immediately upon their arrival. In fact, a preliminary form of customs was in the process of being set up to formalise the procedure. She flicked through the sheets of paper, until something caught her eye. "Hang on," she murmured, reading more closely. "It says here-"

"I know," Jenny interrupted. "That's why I brought this to you."

"But no one's travelled from there since-"

"Exactly."

"It's not possible."

"That's what we thought, but-"

"Thank you, Jenny. I'll take a closer look."

With a nod and a smile, Jenny stood up and left the office. As the door closed behind her, Rose felt her stomach do a small flip. _'Don't get carried away' _she chided herself. There was any number of different explanations for what was contained within the bundle of papers. But only one kept occurring to her and she knew that very little paperwork was going to get done that afternoon.


	3. Remembering

"I don't get it, Doctor," Martha called out, walking at twice her normal pace a few metres behind the Doctor, struggling to keep up with him.

"Neither do I, Martha," he replied. "Neither do I."

"Slow down," she called out for the umpteenth time. The Doctor turned around with a withering look on his face, but his scorn soon faded upon catching sight of Martha's flushed, pleading face and her hurried breathing. He stopped in his tracks and allowed her to catch up. Once she had done so, they fell into a more achievable pace next to one another.

"It's complicated, Martha," the Doctor began to explain. "We're not supposed to be here."

"I know. We're supposed to be in Revolutionary France. But having heard what the form of entertainment is there, I'm quite glad we ended up here instead."

The Doctor managed a weak smile. "When I say we're not supposed to be here, I really mean it's not supposed to be possible for us to be here."

"Huh?"

"It's not scientifically possible for us to be in this universe. I made sure of that."

"But-"

"Yet here we are."

"What do you mean, it's not scientifically possible?"

"Martha, you don't understand how the TARDIS works," the Doctor replied. "I don't think it would mean much to you if I explained."

Martha let his condescending attitude pass. She was not in the mood for an argument. "Try me."

The Doctor's eyes seemed to cloud over as he remembered. Spotting a bench only a few metres away, he wandered over to it. "Sit down, Martha." She did as instructed. As he began to talk, she watched him closely. He would not meet her eye, instead choosing to gaze up to the sky. "The war," he began and then stopped.

"Which war?"

"_The _war."

"You mean-" Martha broke off. The events on Earth of only two years ago were still raw in everyone's minds. So many people had died. People still jumped at unexpected noises and were suspicious of anything unknown to them. Those horrific monsters had struck fear in the bones of the entire population and it was going to take a long time, probably generations, before Earth readjusted and returned to normality.

"That was where I lost Rose."

Martha drew a sharp breath. She could hardly believe she was hearing this. It was nearly a whole year since she had met the Doctor. They had travelled together to places she had never imagined. All the time he had talked about Rose. The things she had done, the things she had said, the places they had been, the people they had met. But he had never told her what had happened; she had never discovered why she was no longer with him. Martha had never asked; there had never been the right moment. She sensed that it was not something he would appreciate being probed about. Yet here they were and he was speaking about her, so frankly. She hardly knew what to say in return. "She-" Martha began, her voice gentle in its query.

"No. It was so close." The Doctor's voice seemed to catch in his throat. "For a moment I thought I had lost her- I mean, I did lose her, but- all I wanted to do was protect her and I thought I had failed." He stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. "But then he turned up- her father. Pete Tyler. He saved her where I couldn't. But it meant- it meant I couldn't see her again." He stood up from the bench in one swift movement, as though the stillness was too much for him. "Listen to me," he muttered with a small, unconvincing laugh. "Wallowing in self pity. Rose would have told me to shut up a long time ago."

"But I'm not Rose."

"No." The word was heavy with emotion. Martha wondered whether he wished she were Rose. She did not ask; she did not wish to know the answer. "Where did she go, Doctor?"

"She came here." This time the reply was simple.

"Here?"

"She started a new life with Jackie, Pete and Mickey." Martha did not ask who these people were. "The void was closed. It was final. It wasn't possible for us to ever meet again."

"But-"

"But we're here."

"What are you going to do?"

"There's nothing else I can do, Martha. I have to find her."


	4. Considering

Rose had been staring at the screen for more than an hour, yet she had only typed five lines. Her mind was not focussed on Mr Peter Briggs' possible sighting of a foreign vessel at 2am on a Saturday morning. He had blown so high on the breathalyser that it was amazing he had still been conscious. However, these things still had to be taken seriously. But not today. Not right now. Rose closed the file on the computer and stared at the empty screen. A simple Torchwood logo was all that adorned it. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It read 18:00. She had been known to work much later than this, but she was not going to today. For one, she had a date with Mickey. For two, she knew she was not going to get anything more productive done today.

She switched off the computer and the lamp on her desk. Standing up, she put her jacket on and left the room, switching the light off behind her. Outside, the majority of people had already left but there was a sparse scattering of people still tapping away at their computers. Torchwood sometimes struggled to stick to a 'normal' 9 'til 5 working day. Saying bye to those people who noticed her passing, she headed to the lift and pressed the button. In such a tall building she was prepared for a long wait but the doors slid open almost immediately. She stepped inside and marvelled at how things had changed in one day. There was now this niggling thought in her brain. It was like an itch she could not scratch. She knew that hope, in this case, was not a good thing. When she was let down, she would have to suffer and grieve all over again. She did not want that. But once the thought had been planted in her head, it was impossible to get rid of it.

The doors closed and the lift began to move downwards. Rose fiddled with her hair self-consciously, staring at her reflection in the mirrored walls. The floor numbers flashed downwards above the doors. 5 – 4 – 3 – Rose moved closer to the doors, ready to leave. Then, all of a sudden, the lift ground to a halt. Rose sighed. "For God's sake," she muttered, pressing on the ground floor button angrily. "What's going on?"

I.I.I.I.I

"Canary Wharf?" Martha questioned disbelievingly. "Rose works in Canary Wharf?"

"It's the central Torchwood office."

"Torchwood?"

"They keep track of all alien movement within this universe."

"Then they must know we're here."

"Probably."

"Will Rose-"

"I don't know."

The two silently entered the main lobby area of the building. It was an impressive, marble affair, with fountains and sculptures. They only managed to take a few steps before a stocky man, of no less than six and a half feet, stepped in their way. He was dressed in a black suit and had an earpiece in his right ear. Martha stepped back but the Doctor did not appear to be intimidated in the slightest. He reached for his magic paper and held it right up in front of the security guard's face. "I'm visiting Torchwood. I have an appointment with Miss Rose Tyler." It was only half a lie. The bodyguard nodded solemnly and stepped to one side.

With a small smile gracing her lips, Martha followed the Doctor to the lifts. "An appointment?"

"Sometimes a little twist of the truth is necessary, Martha. I thought you'd have learnt that by now." He turned to her with a small grin, trying to hide the butterflies that were unsettling his stomach. He was a 900 year old Time Lord but he still got nerves just like everyone else. There was no need to let Martha know that, however. He studied the floor plan next to the lift. "Let's see – Torchwood." His finger jabbed the name on the wall and he proceeded to press the appropriate button. The doors immediately slid open and the Doctor and Martha stepped inside. In a moment they closed again and the lift began to move.

Then, with no warning, the Doctor reached forward and pressed the emergency stop button. "Doctor!" Martha exclaimed. "What are you doing?"

"Good question." The Doctor stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. "What am I doing? Why, only minutes after landing on the alternate world I never thought I could visit again, was I heading straight here to see Rose?"

"Because you want to see her," Martha replied, confused.

"But would she want to see me?"

Martha hesitated. "Why wouldn't she?" The Doctor did not reply. "Doctor, you can't just stop the lift."

"You're right." He reached into his pocket and produced his sonic screwdriver. In one smooth movement he pointed it at the lift control panel, pressed a button and replaced it in his jacket. The lift whirred back into action and began moving downwards, rather than up. "Let's go, Martha." His voice was tinged with sadness and Martha had an urge to wrap her arms around him. She fought it.

"We can come back, Doctor," she insisted. "Maybe now is just not the right time. How about we go for a walk and think it over?"

This seemed to cheer him up a little. "Yes. That's a good idea. We can decide what to do next."

"Right."

I.I.I.I.I

Rose was about to press the emergency help button when the lift began to move again. Sighing with relief, she stepped back from the control panel and watched the floors continue to count down. 3 – 2 – 1 – G. The doors slid open and Rose stepped out. Assertively she paced along the marble floors towards the doors, her kitten heels making a clicking noise, which made her feel strangely self-conscious. After taking only a few steps, she was aware of someone watching her. She turned around, expecting to see a guard or a member of the reception staff staring. As a young, blonde female she was used to receiving her fair share of attention in this building. At first it had unsettled her, but she had grown used to it, and sometimes she even felt flattered by the interest. She smiled slightly as she turned, but to her surprise she could not see anyone. Then, her eyes settled on the lift next to the one she had just stepped out of. The doors were open and standing within was an attractive woman, a little older than herself. But it was not the woman who was staring at Rose. Her eyes were on the man standing next to her. A man in a long coat, underneath which was a pinstripe suit. He was simply staring. As their gazes met, Rose felt her legs buckle underneath her. "Doctor?" she heard herself murmur, before everything went black.


	5. Reuniting

When Rose awoke, she sensed a crowd of people around her. She could feel the cool, hard marble surface against the back of her aching head. Slowly she opened her eyes, allowing them to gradually adjust to the bright light. The first thing she saw was the Doctor's concerned face peering down at hers. She sat up quickly, causing him to have to pull his head back to avoid them colliding. "I'm fine," she insisted, as a number of other people attempted to help her to her feet. "Really." She stood herself up and pushed past the crowds to reach the doors. Pushing them open, she half-walked, half-ran, outside into the cool, fresh evening air. Once she was a few metres from the building, she stopped and stood still. She knew he would be following. Sure enough, in only a second he was by her side. For a moment they were both silent, but he could not bear it for too long.

"Rose," he eventually managed, but there he stopped.

She turned to meet his gaze and for a moment she could hardly breathe. "Doctor," she murmured, the sound barely audible. She reached up a hand towards his face, but it never got there, as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Cautiously, the Doctor stretched his hand out to meet hers. She gripped it tightly and he pulled her in towards his body. His arms embraced her and she held onto him as though she never wanted to let go. She was sobbing now, just as she had been the last time he had seen her.

"It's alright," he murmured, unsure of what else to say. Over Rose's shoulder he caught sight of Martha in the distance. She smiled briefly and then turned and walked away. He closed his eyes, grateful for this moment. Allowing Rose to bury her head in his shoulder, he pulled her even closer to him. "I'm here now."


	6. Talking

"I don't understand," Rose murmured quietly, cupping her mug of tea between her hands. The waitress in the small café approached to check that everything was alright but the Doctor waved her away.

"I don't understand either, Rose."

"I thought it wasn't possible."

"So did I. I tell you, had I known I would have been here much sooner."

"How did you- I mean- did you know you were coming?"

"No," the Doctor insisted fervidly, not entirely sure why he was being so defensive. "We were heading for the French Revolution and then- well, we just ended up here."

"We?" Rose queried. "That girl – is she…with you?"

"Martha," the Doctor explained. "Yes."

"Ah." Rose dropped her eyes from the Doctor's gaze and stared into her mug.

"It's not like that," the Doctor asserted defensively. "She's just-" He faltered, unable to explain Martha's role in his life. "You know how difficult it was for me to be alone. And after you left-"

Now Rose was the one defending herself. "I didn't leave by choice, Doctor," she argued. "I was forced."

"If Pete hadn't appeared, you would have been sucked into the void, Rose."

"Maybe that would have been best." The minute she had said it, Rose regretted the words. It had hurt, so very, very badly, but death was still not preferable to life without the Doctor. Her Mum and Dad and Mickey made sure of that.

Silence depended upon the pair. "I've missed you," the Doctor eventually announced. "Every time I went somewhere new, I wished you were there too." Rose said nothing. "How have you been?" The question sounded hopelessly inadequate but it was suitably neutral not to cause either too much pain. "You're still at Torchwood, I see."

"Yes," Rose affirmed. "I have my own office."

"Good for you."

"It turns out my time with you makes up for my lack of qualifications."

"Maybe I should be asking for a cut of your salary in payment for my valuable contribution."

Rose smiled, for a moment forgetting the situation and imagining that they were still together; that they had never been apart.

"How's Jackie?" the Doctor asked, and then remembered his and Rose's last conversation on the beach. "And the baby?"

"It was a little boy," Rose replied, her face immediately brightening. She glowed as she described her little brother, now nearly a year old.

"What's his name?" the Doctor asked.

"Jamie." Rose reached for her handbag. "Look at this," she announced, pulling out her purse, from which she produced a photograph. She held it out for the Doctor to see, but it was not the picture that caught his attention. Instead, his eyes were drawn to a ring on Rose's finger. It was simple, but the three diamonds were evidently real and they glinted even in the dim light of the café. Rose noticed the Doctor's gaze focused on her finger. She immediately pulled her hand away and placed the photograph back in her purse.

"Mickey?" the Doctor asked.

"Yes."

"How long ago?"

"Just two months."

"When's the wedding?"

"We're in no hurry."

"Congratulations."

Rose fiddled awkwardly with the strap of her handbag. "I've moved on, you know," she murmured. "I had too."

"I know," the Doctor replied. "I understand."

Rose continued to defend herself. "It was so difficult for me, Doctor," she began. "You could just keep travelling. You were still seeing new places, meeting new people. You found Martha. But I was stuck here. I was frustrated. I felt alone. I grieved for you. I never thought-"

"Neither did I, Rose. But the TARDIS evidently had other ideas."

"The TARDIS?" Rose questioned, as though she had forgotten its existence. "Where is it?"

"Just a few minutes walk away."

Rose could not hide her feelings now. "Can I-" she began.

The Doctor's face lit up. "Of course!" He pushed his chair back from the table. "Let's go now!"

"Really?" A smile found its way onto Rose's lips as she stood up also. Together they headed for the door. Just as they pushed it open, the waitress called out.

"Hey!" she cried. "You haven't paid."

The Doctor turned to look at Rose, a mischievous grin on his face. Holding out his hand to Rose, he said, "Shall we?" With a huge smile, Rose took his hand and they started to run.

Her kitten heeled shoes were not designed for this. Her skirt restricted her movement. Her handbag was hanging uncomfortably from her shoulder, banging against her side with every step. But as she and the Doctor ran hand in hand down the street, attracting strange looks from everyone they passed, Rose was happy.


	7. Returning

As she stepped inside the old police box, Rose could physically feel more than eighteen months' worth of hard work being undone. "Oh, God," she whispered. "I've missed this." She rushed around the central controls, studying every inch of the ship. "We could go anywhere," she murmured in awe, as though she was discovering the wonders of the Doctor's life for the first time.

"Not quite," the Doctor corrected, approaching Rose from behind in order to stare at the computer screen. "I have no idea how to leave, Rose."

"What?"

"I don't know how I got here, and I don't know how I'm meant to go back."

"Of course," Rose replied, her enthusiasm seeming to fade in a second. "You have to go back."

"I can't stay, Rose," the Doctor went on. "I was never meant to get here in the first place."

"I know. It's just-" she stopped for a moment. "You've only just arrived."

"I'm not going this moment," the Doctor said, placing a hand on Rose's shoulder. "For one thing, I couldn't even if I wanted to. And I don't."

Rose tried to smile, but did not quite succeed. All of a sudden, the moment was interrupted by the sound of Rose's phone ringing in her bag. She fished it out and glanced at the caller ID. "Oh, God, Mickey," she muttered, pressing the answer button. "Mickey, hi," she spoke into the mobile, her voice deeply apologetic. "I completely forgot…you won't believe…I think maybe I should come and speak to you…Mickey, I don't know how to tell you…he's here…the Doctor, he's back."

I.I.I.I.I

It took Mickey a mere ten minutes to locate the TARDIS. As he burst through the doors, Rose struggled to comprehend how he felt about this most unexpected of surprises. It appeared that Mickey was not entirely sure of his own emotions. "Doctor…Rose," he greeted them in turn, as though the situation was entirely ordinary. An awkward silence descended upon the three of them for a moment. Then, with no prior warning, the Doctor walked towards Mickey. With a big grin on his face, he slapped him on the back and pulled him into a hug. "Ricky!" he exclaimed.

Sometimes, Rose thought, you couldn't help but admire the Doctor.


	8. Arguing

**A quick thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. I really appreciate it. I felt I had to give a warning, however, that the happy ending that many people (probably including myself!) would like to see, may not turn out as you may be expecting. As I wrote this story it sort of took a different turning to that which I was expecting and although the ending is not how I originally planned it, somehow it just felt right. Things can't always turn out perfectly! I really hope that you still enjoy the story and once again, thanks for reading!**

**I I I I I**

Rose and Mickey stood just outside the TARDIS. "I don't get it, Rose," Mickey said, placing his hands in his pockets. "The void – two universes should be destroyed."

"And yet here we all are."

"This isn't quite the evening I had planned."

"I'm really sorry I forgot, Mickey. I really am." Rose tried to look Mickey in the eye, but he avoided her gaze. "Surely you can understand. I mean-"

"Old habits die hard."

"What?"

"I could never really compete with him, could I? Not even now."

"Mickey-" Rose stretched out a hand, but Mickey did not react. "Please. You know how hard this has been for me."

"It's been hard for me too, you know? How do you think it feels always knowing I'm second best? Watching you suffer all that time, and knowing that I was never enough to make you better."

"You are enough!"

"Then why were you with him and not me tonight?"

"It's been nearly two years, Mickey."

"And every day a battle. I thought we were getting there." He took Rose's hand and tenderly fingered her ring. "But now we're back to stage one, aren't we?"

"Mickey," Rose pleaded once again. But he did not have time to say anything else as a woman approached the TARDIS. For a moment she hesitated and Rose had an urge to tell her to leave, and not politely. But then she recognised her. "Martha," she greeted the woman. "It's nice to meet you at last." Rose hoped her false manners were not too see-through.

Martha smiled uncertainly. "Rose," she said simply.

Mickey stepped back, evidently uncertain of what he was witnessing. At the same moment the Doctor emerged from the TARDIS. "Rose?" he questioned, before spotting Martha. "Martha," he began. "I see you've met Rose. And Mickey."

Rose had a sudden urge to laugh. The wife meets the girlfriend…or something like that. She would not try to put a name to each of their roles in this strange television-soap-like scene.

Mickey interrupted her thoughts. "Maybe I should go."

Rose immediately interjected. "No. Just give me a minute." She smiled briefly at Martha before hustling the Doctor into the TARDIS. "You never make things simple, do you?" she hissed as the door swung shut behind them.

"Is Ricky getting upset?" the Doctor asked with a small grin.

Now Rose was infuriated. "You just don't get it, do you?" she accused, her voice almost a shout. "You could move on. You found yourself a nice replacement-"

The Doctor interrupted. "Martha's not a replacement, Rose," he insisted, but Rose went on.

"You kept travelling. But I had to stop. I was forced to. And Mickey was there with me. We were moving on, forming a new life. And then you just turn up and expect- expect-" Rose broke down, tears burning in her eyes and a lump rising in her throat.

Now the Doctor looked genuinely shocked and upset. "Rose, I'm sorry," he murmured. "I didn't do it deliberately. I never meant to-" He stopped and stared at his feet, planting his hands in pockets.

The sound of the door swinging open made both look up. Mickey walked in, closely followed by Martha. "Rose, I'm going," he said. "Call me when you have a moment." With that, he turned and left.

Rose watched him leave and then turned to look at the Doctor. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Then, for the first time in her life, Rose chose Mickey over the Doctor.


	9. Comparing

Rose went to work as usual the next morning. She kissed Mickey goodbye, without saying a word about the events of the night before. As she left the house she could feel his concerned gaze on her back.

She spent two hours staring at the computer screen and struggling to work before a building headache got the better of her. She left the office and wandered along to the toilets. Once she was there she fished out two painkillers from her handbag (since when had she become the kind of woman who carried Paracetamol around with her, just in case?) and swallowed them down with a gulp of water from the tap. Splashing her face with cold water, suddenly uncaring about the fact it smudged her make up, she stared up at herself in the mirror. She looked tired. She had not looked this bad for months. Maybe Mickey was right; all their progress had been undone.

After a few minutes she left the toilets and headed back to her office. Pushing the door open, she was surprised to see a woman sitting opposite her desk, her back to the door. "Can I help you?" she queried. The woman spun around. "Martha?"

"I'm sorry, Rose," Martha smiled apologetically. "The woman – outside – she told me just to come in and wait."

"That's fine," Rose replied, regaining her composure and sitting down at her desk. "How can I help you?"

Martha looked slightly uncertain. "I just- I had to come."

"Did he send you?"

"No!" Martha declared emphatically. "He doesn't know I'm here. To be perfectly honest I don't think he noticed I had gone. He has barely said a word since you left last night."

"Sulking."

"Maybe." Martha smiled. "But personally I think it's more than that."

"Where is he now?"

"He's playing with his pride and joy – the TARDIS, he's trying to return it to its former glory. It suffered a few bashes when we landed here."

"You really didn't know you were coming?"

"I thought we were headed to watch Louis 16th have his head chopped off."

Rose grimaced. "He always knew how to woo a girl, didn't he?" The two women smiled at each other. "Does he still wear those glasses?"

"All the time. I swear he doesn't need them. He just puts them on when he wants to look clever. And that habit he has of grinning at the most inappropriate times. Sometimes I swear-"

"You could throttle him," Rose finished the sentence and she and Martha began to laugh.

"Do you miss it? Travelling, I mean."

"Every day."

"Sometimes I think – I can't imagine ever stopping. How could normal life ever compare to this?" Martha looked slightly guilty as the words slipped out. "I'm sorry – I didn't mean-"

"No – you're right. But it's strange how you get on with things, when you have to."

"That guy – Mickey – are you-"

"We're engaged. He was there before I met the Doctor and he was still there afterwards."

"He misses you, you know?" The declaration from Martha took Rose by surprise. "I've been with him for nearly a year and I don't think one day has passed on which he hasn't mentioned you."

"Really?" Rose seemed genuinely surprised.

"Really. Before I met you I was almost determined to hate you. I never felt I could compare to the mythical Rose." Martha smiled, making it clear this was not meant as an accusation.

"I'm nothing special," Rose insisted.

"You are to him." Rose stared down at her hands, self-consciously picking at her fingernails. Martha went on. "He didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know," Rose murmured. "There was nothing he could have done," she continued, as though she were confirming the fact for her own benefit rather than Martha's.

"Maybe I should go," Martha suggested.

Rose met the woman's gaze. "Thank you for coming."

Martha smiled. "My pleasure."


	10. Loving

Rose pushed open the door of the TARDIS with extreme caution. Inside, she could see the Doctor bent into an awkward looking position in order to adjust a piece of machinery. His back was to her. She closed the door behind her with as little noise as possible, but he still heard. "I've done it, Martha!" he called out. He continued before Rose had time to correct him. "After all that, it was something really simple. She's up and running again. The universe is our oyster again – well, once we've got out of this one." He stood up and spun around with a manic grin on his face. It faded the instant he spotted who was standing before him. "Rose-"

"You're leaving then."

"I- Not right now."

Rose forced a smile. "I'm glad you got her going again."

The Doctor nodded. "Are you alright?"

Rose opened her mouth for the instinctive affirmative reply, but then changed her mind. "No, I'm not," she answered, stepping closer to him. "Martha came to see me."

The Doctor looked taken aback. "What did she say?"

"That doesn't matter."

"It's _my_ job to give awkward answers, Rose," the Doctor replied with a small smile.

"I learnt a lot of things with you, you know," Rose laughed. She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry I got angry last night."

"I think you were perfectly justified."

"I know this has been difficult for you too." The Doctor could not argue with this. A silence descended upon the pair for a minute or two before Rose spoke once again. "Is it safe? For you to leave, I mean? In theory both universes should be gone right now. Won't you going back just increase the risk?"

"We came in a tiny hole, Rose. It shouldn't be there, but it is. If we go back through the same one, there should be no further damage. And I'll close it up once we're back. Reduce your workload a little. Holes are never good – they let in all kinds of things."

Rose nodded and smiled weakly. "Thanks."

"Once I'm gone, there's no coming back," the Doctor continued.

"You said that last time."

"I know. But-"

"I understand, Doctor. The chances of it happening this time were one in a million. After this the odds go down considerably."

"It's not impossible-"

"But it's about as close as you can get." Rose finished the sentence.

"You could come, Rose." The thought had been running through the heads of both ever since the conversation had begun. "You could return to your earth. Keep travelling the universe with me."

"Leave everyone behind."

"They could come too."

"A year and a half ago I would have jumped at the chance. You know that. I would have sacrificed everything just to join you again. That day on the beach – I thought things would never get better. It felt like my life was over."

The Doctor smiled sadly. "I feel a but coming."

"But it wasn't. Things did improve. I've made a new family, Doctor. I have a Mum, a Dad, a little brother. I'm going to have a husband. Maybe children of my own. I can't leave all that behind."

"I understand," the Doctor replied, although the look on his face said something different entirely.

"I still love you, you know?" Rose had to say it. "I'll never stop. The time I spent with you changed my life."

Now the Doctor smiled. "I love you too." He met Rose's gaze. "I've waited a long time to say that."

"I've waited a long time to hear it."

"Maybe the old girl did know what she was doing when she brought me here."

"You never doubted her, did you?" Rose smiled, and the Doctor smiled in return. "Would you like to go out for dinner tonight? As a goodbye? A proper one this time."

"I'd love to."


	11. Never Forgetting

**Last part, folks. I know this is not the ending that many of you (possibly a majority!) want to see, but as I said before, it just happened like that as I wrote; I didn't plan it either! Anyway, I hope some of you can enjoy it anyway. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**

* * *

**"This has been really lovely," Martha commented warmly, with a genuine smile on her face, as Mickey produced his credit card from his wallet. 

"This one's on me," the Doctor insisted, holding up a hand towards Mickey in protest.

"Are you sure?" Mickey asked, and Rose laughed out loud at this polite banter between these, 'the two men in her life'.

"What's so funny?" the Doctor asked quizzically.

"Nothing," Rose insisted. "Just you."

"Oh, thanks!"

"What are you planning on paying with exactly, Doctor?" Martha asked.

"Oh, I have a plan. Don't you worry," the Doctor replied, winking at Rose as he did so. Martha did not take offence; she had come to realise that she would never replace Rose, and she never wished to do so. "But in order to carry it out, I think you and Mickey should go."

"Why don't I like the sound of this?" Martha asked with a suspicious smile.

"Come on," Mickey insisted, taking her hand and pulling her into a standing position. "I learnt a long time ago that it's always best to listen to this guy."

Rose flashed Mickey a grateful smile as he and Martha headed towards the door, before turning to the Doctor. "So, what's this amazing plan of yours?"

"I don't think I had better tell you before we do it. You probably wouldn't approve."

"You don't want to do a runner?" The Doctor looked disappointed to have been caught out so quickly. "This place is posh, Doctor!"

"Come on – for old time's sake."

"I don't remember us fleeing restaurants very often, actually," Rose laughed, feeling herself being talked round already, but not minding.

"But we did do our fair share of running."

"Fair enough." Rose broke into a broad smile as the Doctor grinned at her and she felt her heart swell with affection.

"Ready?" The Doctor held out his hand as he glanced around at the waiters.

"Ready." Rose placed her hand in his and in an instant she was dragged to her feet and felt herself sprinting out of the door. She heard shouts behind her but she did not look back. She felt the Doctor's warm hand squeeze hers and as they continued to run, neither wanted the moment to ever end.

Rose was never to forget that. Neither was the Doctor. Even as she watched the TARDIS disappear for the last time with tears running down her cheeks but Mickey's hand in hers. Even as he saved the world, again and again. Even as she watched her children grow up. Even as he lost Martha and gained a new companion, again and again. Even as she lay on her death bed. Even as he regenerated.

They never forgot.


End file.
